Comments on: DIY Basement Workout Room Step 5: The Trim-ishing Touches

By: Bill Berklich

Bill Berklich — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:26:52 +0000

Hey – thanks for you effort in posting. It’s saved me quite a few hours and several hundred dollars.

By: tony

tony — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 22:15:55 +0000

great looking basement. Do you have any pictures on how you framed out the windows? I like the way you did yours. Is there anywhere online that shows people how to do it?

By: Tyler

Tyler — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 15:17:04 +0000

Your Basement looks fantastic. My wife and I couldnt believe how close it resembles our current basement re model. We went with an all black ceiling which we love. I have a question regarding the lighting in your basement. The current light in our basement is flourecent tube track lighting. I see in your pics that you used an overhead light to illuminate the door to the bathroom, but what other lighting did you install? We are concerned with using a more stylish industrial light track may not give it enough light. the current space is about 800 sq feet.

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 03:15:59 +0000

Nice Job On the Basement. I’m installing Dow WallMate right now in the garage and basement of a house. TapCons are definitely the way to go, and you’ll have to buy enough that you may want to buy stock in the company. In case anyone is thinking about using Ram Set nails, don’t even think about it with cinder block walls. Pre-drill the holes in whatever wood strips you choose because you’ll bend up a perfectly good $8 masonry drill bit if you don’t. Finally, Dow makes an expanding foam adhesive specifically for gluing foam board to masonry walls. One can of it goes a loooong way and it may not seem strong when you first put it on, but when it sets up it’s amazing. I’m going to shoot a few YouTube vids of my final stages of install.

By: Kris Rzepkowski

Kris Rzepkowski — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:33:26 +0000

Hi Nicci,
I have seen white done before and I’m not a big fan. Black and dark gray tend to disappear when you walk down to your basement. Your eye just tends to focus on other things, like the lighting, walls, floor, furniture, whatever. All the pipes and ducts disappear and you don’t miss a drop ceiling at all.

With white you’d think the room would be brighter which I suppose it is – but your eyes immediately go right up to the ceiling. I found myself focusing on all the pipes and junk that was up there rather than looking at the rest of the room. That’s just my opinion, take it for what it’s worth.

By: Nicci

Nicci — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:54:03 +0000

Kris, we completely agree with Matt! We’re leaning towards a white paint since we’ll be doing laminate floors. Did you ever consider white? I’m guessing you went with black to match the rubber mat? Just want to make sure I’m not missing something by going with white….

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:33:27 +0000

Your ceiling looks fantastic. I think it in fact looks better than a drop ceiling, which to me always looks cheap and basementy. This looks loft-like and obviously was a lot quicker to put in than a drop. And full ceiling height. Do you have any more pics of the ceiling and long-room shots with it in them? I am planning on drywalling as I remodel now but this is attractive.

By: Mike Z

Mike Z — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:26:17 +0000

There wasn’t a water problem, but I thought since I have access before I seal in the walls I would dig out any cracks or holes and patch with the UGL hydraulic patching cement. Then I painted with the UGL waterproof paint which is super thick and covered less sq feet that you would think.

By: Kris Rzepkowski

Kris Rzepkowski — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:33:48 +0000

Thanks for sharing those pics Mike. Remodeling old is probably tougher than doing it from scratch in a new build like me. Although each has its own special issues (like pretty much having no idea how to start). That’s a bummer about the rot. Is that waterproofing paint or cement you used on the block walls?. That looks really good. I didn’t know there are rubber transitions. That’s a good idea. I’ll have to look for those when I finish the rest of the basement.

By: Mike Z

Mike Z — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:28:21 +0000

I have the same situation – I did find some rubber transitions but they were expensive. My concern is the edge getting torn up from catching your feet on the flooring going in and out. I suppose I should just browse the transitions at the HW store, there are probably tons. My room is stalled because I found some rotted wood near the doorframe. Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/mzaloudek/HomeGymSept2008#